Mi nombre es Laura.

My name is Laura.

Breakdown of Mi nombre es Laura.

• ser: to be
• mi: my
• Laura: Laura
• el nombre: the name

Questions & Answers about Mi nombre es Laura.

Can I say Me llamo Laura instead of Mi nombre es Laura? Is there any difference?

Yes. You can use all of these:

• Me llamo Laura.
  Literally I call myself Laura. This is the most common, natural way to introduce yourself in everyday spoken Spanish in Spain.

• Soy Laura.
  Literally I am Laura. Also very common, especially in quick introductions (in class, on the phone, in small groups).

• Mi nombre es Laura.
  Literally My name is Laura. Correct, but a bit more formal or neutral. It is often used:

  • in more formal situations (interviews, customer service),
  • when filling in forms or giving information that will be written down,
  • when explicitly talking about your name as a piece of information.

All three are correct; they just sound slightly different in style and context, with Me llamo Laura being the most typical in casual conversation in Spain.

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Why is it mi and not me in Mi nombre es Laura?

Because mi and me are different kinds of words:

• mi / mis = my / my (plural)
  They are possessive adjectives and must be followed by a noun.

  • mi nombre = my name
  • mi casa = my house
  • mis amigos = my friends

• me = me / to me / myself
  It is an object / reflexive pronoun used with verbs, not directly before a noun.

  • Me llamo Laura. = I call myself Laura.
  • Él me ve. = He sees me.

So you say mi nombre (my name), not me nombre.
Also note: mi (my) has no accent. mí (with accent) is a stressed pronoun meaning me after a preposition, as in para mí (for me).

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Why is nombre masculine if Laura is female?

In Spanish, grammatical gender belongs to the noun, not to the person it refers to.

• nombre is a masculine noun, so you say:
  • el nombre (the name),
  • un nombre raro (a strange name),
  • ese nombre tan largo (that very long name).

This does not change depending on whether the person is male or female.
So both are correct:

• El nombre de Laura es bonito. (Laura’s name is nice.)
• El nombre de Pablo es bonito. (Pablo’s name is nice.)

The gender of Laura as a person is not marked through nombre; it is simply part of the meaning of the proper name Laura, which is usually female.

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How do you pronounce Mi nombre es Laura in Spanish (Spain)?

A good approximation is:

• IPA: /mi ˈnom.bɾe es ˈlau̯ɾa/
• Rough English-style guide: mee NOHM-breh ess LAU-rah

Some points:

• mi → like mee.
• no → pure o sound, like the o in fort, but shorter.
• -mbre → say both m and b, then reh: NOM-breh.
• es → short ess.
• Laura → two syllables: LAU-ra.
  • au is one sound, like ow in now.
  • The r is a quick tap (like the American t in water in some accents): LAU-ra, not an English r.

In connected, natural speech, many Spaniards link es and Laura, so it can sound almost like mi nombre eslaura in one flow.

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Can I reverse the order and say Laura es mi nombre?

Grammatically, yes: Laura es mi nombre is correct Spanish.
However, in everyday introductions it sounds unusual or poetic.

Typical uses of Laura es mi nombre:

• For stylistic effect, in poems, songs, or very formal / literary language.
• To emphasise or correct the name:
  • No, Laura es mi nombre, no Ana.
    (No, Laura is my name, not Ana.)

But if you just want to introduce yourself naturally, in Spain people would say:

• Me llamo Laura.
• Soy Laura.
• Mi nombre es Laura.

rather than Laura es mi nombre.

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Why don’t you say Mi nombre es la Laura? I’ve heard articles before names in some Spanish.

In standard Spanish (including standard usage in Spain), first names normally appear without an article:

• Laura
• Mi nombre es Laura.

You are right that in some areas of Spain (for example, parts of Catalonia, Valencia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands), people often say things like:

• la Laura, el Carlos

This is dialectal and common in informal speech there, often influenced by local languages (Catalan, etc.). However:

• In neutral, standard Spanish, especially in writing or formal situations, you generally do not use the article with first names.
• Mi nombre es la Laura would sound dialectal, marked, or odd in many contexts.
  The neutral, widely accepted version is Mi nombre es Laura.

Note that the noun nombre itself does take an article when it’s the subject or object:

• El nombre de mi hermana es Laura. (My sister’s name is Laura.)
• ¿Cuál es tu nombre? (What is your name?)

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Can I drop es and just say Mi nombre, Laura?

As a full sentence, no. You normally need es:

• Mi nombre es Laura. (complete sentence)

If you drop es, Mi nombre, Laura becomes a fragment, which you might see only in special contexts:

• On a form or list:
  Nombre: Laura
• In note-style speech when listing information:
  • Mi nombre, Laura; mis apellidos, García Pérez.

But for normal spoken Spanish, if you want to say My name is Laura, you should use the full sentence Mi nombre es Laura.

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Could I say something like El nombre mío es Laura or Mi nombre es de Laura?

These are technically possible combinations of words, but they are not the natural way to say My name is Laura.

• El nombre mío
  This exists, but it adds strong emphasis, like my name (and not someone else’s). It is rare and would usually not be followed by es Laura in normal speech about yourself.

• Mi nombre es de Laura
  This means something like My name belongs to Laura, which is odd or wrong in this context.

To talk about someone’s name in general, Spanish uses:

• El nombre de Laura = Laura’s name
  El nombre de mi madre es Laura. (My mother’s name is Laura.)

But when you introduce yourself and say My name is Laura, the natural and standard way is simply:

• Mi nombre es Laura.